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Will Byakuya become a beast?

So, I have briefly brought this up in the discussion thread but I figured Id made a more clear case for why I believe Byakuya will become beastly during this chapter.

Byakuya was clearly the worst wounded out of the captains in the Gotei 13. Me theory comes from an early translation of the chapter 519 where Krinji claims that you will become healthier from his reiatsu cleansing technique. Right now all I can find is this but this also points towards improvement from having used his technique:

Now I might buy that Ichigo could do this without improving as he is the main guy and has constant upgrades but Renji suddenly being awesome? Somethings got to give, and I believe the more Reiatsu you clean out, the more new and improved reiatsu you get.
So why would the Reiatsu become improved? Well because the level of training is on "Spirit King-level". This is beyond what either of them have ever done and Byakuya is going to stay the longest, get cleansed the most and thus improve the most.

If we look back to his defeat and really ever since Ichigo defeated him Kubo has been building on his empathy and likability. Hes given him a new reason to be motivatred again after leaving some of the prior pride aspects behind him and that is to protect his loved ones, so we have that as a driving factor, one that he sacrificed his life for (as far as he knew). Motivation won't be a problem, also it makes no sense to bring him back at the same level he was before he got beaten, if so then he will only function as fodder. To bring Byakuya back, seeing as he is such a popular figure just has to lead to some where greater then before.
And with the next stage being a Zanpakutou training it seems all the steps of having him restored and improved are laid out.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

I don't believe Byakuya will show any sorts of improvement.

My reasons:

1) His Bankai is stolen and Urahara or Mayuri are still yet to figure out a way to cancel the medallion effect.
2) His healing will take much more time than it was with Renji.
3) There is little room of improvement for a captain. Ichigo will be the one making leaps, and Renji can improve, because he is a vice-captain.
4) There is no reason to give Byakuya a power-up, since he's not brought back. He just survived.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by Hakuteiken

I don't believe Byakuya will show any sorts of improvement.

My reasons:

1) His Bankai is stolen and Urahara or Mayuri are still yet to figure out a way to cancel the medallion effect.
2) His healing will take much more time than it was with Renji.
3) There is little room of improvement for a captain. Ichigo will be the one making leaps, and Renji can improve, because he is a vice-captain.
4) There is no reason to give Byakuya a power-up, since he's not brought back. He just survived.

Yes his healing will indeed take much longer, the best possible healing there is, this the improvement. His reiatsu will be so clean it's silly
His bankai was stolen, so the improvement there really rests on what the next stage of training is, the zanpakutou inventor is next, perhaps there is a way to get around that here. Also we don't know the full functions of the medallion. When Yamamoto faced the guy that stole his vie captains Bankai he said that it wasn't as strong. Maybe the medallion copys the Bankai and suppresses the hosts ability but it's still there. Anyway, it's all speculation but you can improve on more things then Bankai alone.

Also why shouldn't a captain be able to improve? Hes never been presented with this chance to up his skills. Simply the title won't show much in terms of ability to improve.
And I believe that he just survived is exactly why he is going to get a power up, why make him survive and then have him not standing a chance against any of the medallion wielders in the Quincy ranks? So that he can sit on the side lines? I believe he was brought to the Spirit castle for a reason, becoming a boss might be it. Also I believe Rukia will get bankai.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by Sanadan

Also why shouldn't a captain be able to improve? Hes never been presented with this chance to up his skills. Simply the title won't show much in terms of ability to improve.
And I believe that he just survived is exactly why he is going to get a power up, why make him survive and then have him not standing a chance against any of the medallion wielders in the Quincy ranks? So that he can sit on the side lines? I believe he was brought to the Spirit castle for a reason, becoming a boss might be it. Also I believe Rukia will get bankai.

Because when the Bankai stealing medallion is casted aside somehow and they can go Bankai again -which, I believe, will mean the return of the stolen Bankai to their users also-, it will probably be enough to defeat a regular SR.
I suppose anything more than that will be a redundant improvement, since the captains aren't going to be relevant in the fight against Bach. Perhaps Kyouraku and Ukitake will take on Bach, and Ichigo will fight Haschwald, but there isn't anything to do for other captains or so it seems.
So, I do believe he will defeat an SR with his Bankai back.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

If we look back to the other stories the captains have been always cleared the road for Ichigo to get to the main villains. This seems to be a theme running for some time. If it happens again Byakuya is going to have to be more then he was. Maybe the zan training will enable him to counter the medallions effect. Anyway, the idea of the medallion is hard to take into account as we for now don't even know what it really did.

All the medallion stuff aside the main point is that not only the bankai has room to improve, especially for some one who uses it as often as Byakuya. A stronger reiatsu and super efficient training can improve Kido to a whole new level, normal zanpakutou release to a new level and make his shunpo even stronger then before.

I am not saying Byakuya will become stronger then Ichigo, but I believe he will climb to a top tier position in the Gotei 13 after their done with him

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

I agree that Byakuya has plenty of room to improve. And having tasted defeat, he is going to do what we have seen Ichigo and others do...find a way past his weakness and protect the ones he loves, bankai or no bankai. He was already able to cut As Nodt using his shikai. And I would like to see him wipe the smug look off that jerk's face by being the first shinigami to beat his own bankai with a shikai.

Yeah, nearly killing him just pissed him off. Byakuya may have some issues right now, but he is going to waste As Nodt when they meet again, assuming that As Nodt survived Yama-jii's roasting!

Kubo saved Byakuya from death and had him sent to the spirit king's realm for a reason, and I can't wait to find out what that is.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

For this topic, i think Kenpachi will take the limelight.. He's a war potential who didn't do anything significant (besides killing the Fodders) in the battle. After the "Art of Killing" training, he will become a beast and thus not byakuya, that would be ichigo's place now... Or else, imo, the plot will be messed up. ^___^

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by Hakuteiken

I don't believe Byakuya will show any sorts of improvement.

My reasons:

1) His Bankai is stolen and Urahara or Mayuri are still yet to figure out a way to cancel the medallion effect.
2) His healing will take much more time than it was with Renji.
3) There is little room of improvement for a captain. Ichigo will be the one making leaps, and Renji can improve, because he is a vice-captain.
4) There is no reason to give Byakuya a power-up, since he's not brought back. He just survived.

Well, the badges are something which the shinigami in some form are going to have to counter at some point and it is a bit of a plot point for all the important characters who lost their bankais to get them back. Mayuri and urahara are IMO very likely to come through with this.

Even if the healing takes longer the end result will likely be the same as with renji or ichigo. He is after all going through an extreme healing treatment. Byakuya is likely to end up as kirinji said ichigo ended up, healthier than before.

Well, in the short room there certainly is little room for growth however that applies to renji too. Byakuya should have plenty of room to grow stronger in the long run considering even yamamoto was able to improve his bankai in the past 1000 years. Byakuya is also likely to go through kirio's food treatment soon so he should benefit from that just about as much as ichigo and renji.

Not sure what that last part means. He's not brought back, just survived?

Byakuya and rukia are extremely likely to go basically through the same boosts as ichigo and renji. Byakuya will take longer to heal than renji however as far as we know once the healing is over he will be at 100% just as renji and ichigo were. After that he is likely to go to kirio's place and enjoy whatever boost his food gives to people. Anyways, I doubt this part of the training would end up giving any of them a huge power boost. This part shouldn't represent that huge a boost in itself as the healing simply puts their body at their peak and the reiatsu that kirio placed into her food is likely to vanish in the short run. I doubt renji will jump a power class just like that, even the 2 years worth of training before the arc are bound to be more significant. The only actual significant boost renji is likely to get from this is from repairing his bankai. As far as we know the damage his bankai took years ago should by all intends and purposes have weaken it a bit. Once the repair is done we should see a very tangible increase in power on his side (technically it would be more along the lines of using his bankai at a level close to what it is intended too). Maybe since the result won't necessarily be the same as it would have been if it had never been destroyed it will result in a less powerful but more manageable power for renji though which is a bit of a silver lining (good for the short run but not for the long run).

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by kkck

Not sure what that last part means. He's not brought back, just survived?

If he died and was then revived back with some sort of Orihimesque power (like many people expecting Minazuki to revive back everyone), it would be a cheap trick and it would be pointless if he stayed at the level he was.
Now, I cannot see any difference between Byakuya and any other character. Aside from Captain-Commander, everyone is coming back and most of them had either difficulty in dealing with their opponents or were defeated. And they aren't going to be receiving any power-ups (Bankai enabling aside), so, I don't see a reason for Byakuya to be powered up right now. If there is a method that magically powers up people aside from healing them to 100% health, why could it be that it's only applied to four people and not the entire Gotei 13?

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Actually, As Nodt wasn't using Blut Vene at the moment. He was surprised. Fat SR then told As Nodt to not let his Blut get torn so easily.

And I think, that Byakuya will get his revenge and will have small talk about fear with As Nodt.

Um, how do you figure that As Nodt was off guard and not using Blut Vene when Renji had just attacked him, and had just finished saying, 'Our swords won't work on them?' Of course, he expected the attack. He just didn't expect it to cut him. He was overconfident...at that moment anyway. Byakuya and the other captains would probably have been better off just staying in Shikai from the start.

If he died and was then revived back with some sort of Orihimesque power (like many people expecting Minazuki to revive back everyone), it would be a cheap trick and it would be pointless if he stayed at the level he was.
Now, I cannot see any difference between Byakuya and any other character. Aside from Captain-Commander, everyone is coming back and most of them had either difficulty in dealing with their opponents or were defeated. And they aren't going to be receiving any power-ups (Bankai enabling aside), so, I don't see a reason for Byakuya to be powered up right now. If there is a method that magically powers up people aside from healing them to 100% health, why could it be that it's only applied to four people and not the entire Gotei 13?

Eh, you don't expect powerups???
When pretty much everyone got their asses handed to them? Nobody eked out a win, not even Ichigo. Of course, there will be massive training and powerups for many characters. Otherwise, they would only lose again.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by Firebird0ne

Eh, you don't expect powerups???
When pretty much everyone got their asses handed to them? Nobody eked out a win, not even Ichigo. Of course, there will be massive training and powerups for many characters. Otherwise, they would only lose again.

I expect Bankai to be enough of a power-up. There is nothing to suggest SR are overwhelmingly better than the captains for me.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by Firebird0ne

Um, how do you figure that As Nodt was off guard and not using Blut Vene when Renji had just attacked him, and had just finished saying, 'Our swords won't work on them?' Of course, he expected the attack. He just didn't expect it to cut him. He was overconfident...at that moment anyway. Byakuya and the other captains would probably have been better off just staying in Shikai from the start.

Damn, those guys are pathetic. Damn! That guy is flying and he thinks he will cut my Blut Vene. xD Oh, lookie there! New guy. Wow, he talks big. No attack so no need to use Blut Vene. And what the hell is this dust? WHAT THE F***? IT CAN CUT? Now I'm pissed.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

Originally Posted by Hakuteiken

I don't believe Byakuya will show any sorts of improvement.

My reasons:

1) His Bankai is stolen and Urahara or Mayuri are still yet to figure out a way to cancel the medallion effect.
2) His healing will take much more time than it was with Renji.
3) There is little room of improvement for a captain. Ichigo will be the one making leaps, and Renji can improve, because he is a vice-captain.
4) There is no reason to give Byakuya a power-up, since he's not brought back. He just survived.

I agree with pretty much all of these points.

I don't believe Ichigo is going to become stronger solely because of whatever happens in the Spirit Palace. I believe Ichigo's change will occur (and has been occuring throughout the series) because Ichigo's potential (his 'limit') has yet to be reached. Same goes for Renji, though his limit is probably lower than Ichigo's.

Byakuya has reached his limit as a shinigami, and perhaps as a forerunner in Kubo's work. Even in the past arc, we learned more about Byakuya's bankai, but nothing actually new in terms of gaining power/strength/what-have-you. I really feel like Kubo wants to give others the chance to shine, and this final arc is the perfect time to do so.

Re: Will Byakuya become a beast?

He didn't look useless at the beginning of his fight with As Nodt. In fact, he probably only nearly died because the captains mistakenly thought that the quincys were 'sealing' bankai instead of 'stealing' it. He is far from useless, as he has proven many times, with or without bankai. All that happened to him was that he fell victim to a plan that was based on faulty information. That does not make him useless or weak.